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5 cinemas in the Latin quarter for cinema lovers

1 month ago - Julie D.

Why are there so many cinemas in the Latin Quarter?
The Latin Quarter does not quite correspond to a district: it straddles the 5th and 6th arrondissements, which covers almost entirely. A historical district of universities since the creation of the Sorbonne in 1250, it remains still today the beating heart of Paris’ student life.
As of the 1960s, several movie theaters were opened in the Latin Quarter, adding to the historic halls of cinema lovers, some open since the beginning of the 20th century. In the intellectual turmoil that follows May 68, cinema is no longer seen simply as entertainment, but as a real art and often as a way of observing society and making it change, surfing on the prestige of the New Wave.
Cinema arthouse, cinema of author, committed cinema: the Latin Quarter, epicenter of the bohemian intellectual and artistic center asks for more. Not to mention the fact, much more prosaic, that students have free time between classes - or when they skip a class...
So, let's take the path of schoolchildren and go for a walk in the dark rooms, discover on the big screen what is the soul of the Latin Quarter!
The Champo
The Champo, proudly standing at the corner of rue Champollion and rue des Ecoles, needs no further presentation. Open since 1938, it survived a fire and was threatened with closure before a massive mobilization saved it. The Paris City Council has made the cinema and its original facade, dating from 1938, be classified as a historic monument for their protection.
The fire of 1941 has also been the site of an ingenious invention: the "retro-reflex", which uses a periscope to project the image on a mirror reflected on the screen. This process, which makes it possible to project films even in very small rooms, is perhaps at the origin of the "reflection" that one finds in the name of another cinema of the street Champollion, the Reflet Medici, and in the name of the Ciné Reflet bookshop, today reincarnated into the library of cinema of the Pantheon.
Champo is the cinema of filmmakers, the temple of the New Wave: François Truffaut admitted having spent whole days there. He is not the only one to have frequented this small cinema that quickly became Saint of the Saints of the 7th art: Lelouch, Godard, Chabrol were regulars.
Champo is fond of major retrospective cycles devoted to an author or a movement and organizes "Champo nights", in which films around the same theme are broadcasted continuously from midnight until dawn.
Le Champo - 51, rue des Ecoles, 75005 - metro Cluny-La-Sorbonne or Maubert-Mutualité, or RER Luxembourg
The Filmothèque of the Quartier Latin
It is rumored that Quentin Tarantino would come on pilgrimage to the Filmothèque of the Latin Quarter every time he goes to Paris ... The American director must have the gift of disguise, because its large size does not facilitate the incognito!
In its two intimate rooms, under the sign of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, we come to revel in typical screenings of the neighborhood of intellectuals: films of authors, retrospectives of great directors, festivals of less known cinemas, Turkish cinema, Kurdish cinema, Hungarian, Lebanese, Finnish or Ukrainian. Eclecticism is the watchword, with a great variety of eras and genres. But attentions to the latecomers: do not think to arrive quietly during the advertisements, because there is none at the Film Library!
La Filmothèque du Quartier Latin - 9, rue Champollion, 75005 - Cluny-La-Sorbonne metro or Maubert-Mutualité, or RER Luxembourg
The Reflet Médicis
Former theater, the Reflet Medicis opened in 1964, making it one of the oldest cinemas in the Latin Quarter. It is, like the Champo and the Filmothèque, located rue Champollion, so it has also become the den of students of the Sorbonne, who come to kill the time between two courses. The cinema has three rooms: in the room Medici 3, do not miss the multicolored stained-glass window, which dates from the time when the Reflet Medici was still the Theater of the Night owls.
As it is of rigor in an art room, the films are presented in their original language, and there are special retrospectives devoted to the great directors, not to mention the debates and meetings with directors and teams. The Reflet Medici also hosts several festivals: Polish Film Festival, Cineril Festival, Film Festival - Human Rights with Amnesty International. When the Cannes Film Festival ends each year, we find at Reflet Médicis the selection Un certain regard, which allows to discover directors still little known.
Opposite, the Reflet is a simple and friendly student cafe. Before or after a session, we come to Reflet recapture with the world and sip a beer, like any self-respecting Parisian student!
The Reflet Medici - 3, rue Champollion, 75005 - metro Cluny-La-Sorbonne or Maubert-Mutualité, or RER Luxembourg
Espace Saint-Michel
Dean of Latin Quarter cinemas, l’Espace Saint-Michel has been operating as a projection room since 1911. L’Espace Saint-Michel gives pride of place to films by French and foreign authors; where other cinemas in the neighborhood cultivate the great classics, l’Espace also seeks to introduce new talents.
Here too, everything is done to encourage long, crazy conversations between film fans: The Les Affiches bar-restaurant owes its "fifties" stamp to the frescoes and cinema photos, and its name to the original posters that are part of the cinema collection.
Finally, the Club is a cozy space hidden in the depths of the basement: it welcomes meetings between moviegoers and film people, during debates, for film screenings during filming or short films.
Espace Saint-Michel – 7, place Saint-Michel, 75005 – métro Saint-Michel – Notre-Dame
Cinema La Clef – l’Usage du monde
On the other side of the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the cinema La Clef is not in the orbit of the Sorbonne, but remains well anchored in the Latin Quarter: The University of the Sorbonne-Nouvelle is nearby, on the street Censier.
The Key has an original story. It may be the neighborhood's most "Mai 68" cinema: created in 1969, it is attended by students from the brand-new university that has just opened. During the 1970s, independent film and film screenings followed, but the room languished during the 1980s. In the 1990s, it was taken over by an African filmmaker under the name Images d'Ailleurs, to promote all the wealth of African and Afro-American cinema, which France then discovers the effervescence.
Today, La Clef is the only associative cinema in Paris and has kept its spirit committed, by broadcasting films from around the world, especially those that are very difficult to see elsewhere or that reflect the social and environmental issues of the contemporary world.
La Clef – l’Usage du monde - 34, rue Daubenton, 75005 - Censier-Daubenton metro

From Amélie Poulain to Steampunk: The dream world of Caro and Jeunet

2 months ago - Julie D.

You may have come to Montmartre in the footsteps of Amélie Poulain ... Take advantage of it until July 2018 to visit the Halle Saint-Pierre, to see the exhibition devoted to objects crafted by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Then, continue your treasure hunt to discover Paris, but on another track, that of the "Steampunk" dear to the before mentioned.
"Caro and Jeunet" are a genius tandem known for their films with a strange universe, populated by bizarre objects and sometimes a comical décor but sometimes disturbing. Their best-known collaborations are the films Delicatessen and La cite des Enfants Perdus. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is also, of course, the director of Alien Resurrection and Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.
The exhibition allows you to dive into their dream world with delight and to find the unusual objects that populate their films.
Everyone remembers Amelie Poulain's bedside lamp: the lamp-stand, a placid pig in a dressing gown, liking to share her wise aphorisms about her owner's eventful love life. The lamp is part of the exhibits at the Halle Saint-Pierre, in the heart of the neighbourhood of Amelie Poulain - so to speak at home! You can also see Dominique Bretodeau’s box of souvenirs that Amelie returns to its owner after many subterfuges.
But the exhibition also recalls the darker sides of the universe of Caro and Jeunet, where the Steampunk cyclops evolve, decked out with a monocle at the end of an articulated arm, the “optacon", and where the Alien takes the scary aspect of a skeletal abortion.
The Halle Saint Pierre, outsider art and singular art
"Dedicated to the most unexpected forms of creation," Halle Saint-Pierre is a space dedicated to outsider art and singular art, nestled at the foot of the Butte Montmartre - near the gardens of Sacré Coeur where Amelie Poulain takes Nino Quincampoix on a nice treasure hunt.
The Halle also hosts an art-shop bookstore and a café. In parallel with the exhibition Caro and Jeunet, do not miss "Turbulences in the Balkans", on the upper floor of the Halle, an exhibition devoted to the latest developments of outsider art in this region.
Interestingly, Jean-Pierre Jeunet is an avid visitor to the Halle, and the creators and artists who have exhibited in the past have suggested many elements for his films. The exhibition includes works from the Halle Saint-Pierre collection, chosen by Caro and Jeunet for having inspired them.
Halle Saint-Pierre - 2, rue Ronsard, 75018 - metro Anvers or Abbesses - open every day, from 11h to 18h, Saturday from 11h to 19h and Sunday from 12h to 18h - beware, the ticket office closes 1h before the closing time of the museum - full price 9 €, under 15 6 €
Steampunk, the nostalgia of the future
But what is "Steampunk"? A universe born of the unbridled imagination of novelists and artists both fascinated by technological progress and worried about its excesses. From the novels of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne to the wanderings of Adèle Blanc-Sec in a Paris populated by frightening creatures, the Steampunk cultivates an imaginary that mixes Belle Époque fashion and crafted gear. Redingotes, crinolines and time machines stand in a merry tote.
The "Steampunk" is also a very lively community of fans, who in France are called "vaporists".
This mixture of futurism and nostalgia, these strange and poetic objects, are found in a series of famous chromolithography’s: "The Year 2000" seen by Villemard. Designed in 1910, at the height of the Belle Époque, these exquisitely obsolete skits described an ultra-technological future as it was portrayed at the time: telephone conversations with holograms, supersonic means of transport, beard-trimming machines and hair styling for the ladies. Even if we can recognize the ancestors of objects that we use every day, the combination of articulated arms, gramophone pavilions and 1900s clothing still smiles...
The turn of the century, late 19th and early 20th, is also the time of Jules Verne's triumph. Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus, is a shining example of these complicated machines whose function is not always obvious but which have an undeniable look! Moreover, you can find the Mysteries of the Nautilus among the attractions of Disneyland Paris.
Jules Verne was also an unneglectable source of inspiration for Caro and Jeunet and remains the patron saint of Steampunk, in Paris and around the world. "The Jules Verne" is also the name of the restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower, symbol Steampunk if it were.
The Mysteries of Nautilus - Disneyland Paris - accessible by RER A, Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy stop, or by Disneyland Paris Express from Gare du Nord, Opera and Châtelet.
Restaurant Le Jules Verne (Alain Ducasse) - 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower - avenue Gustave Eiffel, 75007 - metro 6 Bir-Hakeim, RER C Eiffel Tower
The automaton collection and the Blériot aeroplane from the Museum of Arts and Crafts
This fascination for ingenious machines does not date from yesterday - nor does it date from Jules Verne. Poets can continue their daydreams at the Museum of Arts and Crafts, which has a superb collection of automatons from all ages. This Theatre of automatons shows notably a Marie-Antoinette musician, player of tympanon. Her graceful head movements produce a strange, almost living impression. The Theatre brings together other curious specimens, many toys like this Don Quixote with a proud moustache painted on his steed on wheels, and other musicians, such as barbaric organ player.
At the discretion of the galleries, one can also admire the flying machine of Louis Blériot, ancestor of the plane. This airplane was the very one that allowed Blériot to cross the Channel in 37 minutes in 1909 - and this vintage film, black and white grainy and flickering, will certainly have influenced the fans of Méliès that are Caro and Jeunet. The character of the zany and daring inventor, who tests his own machines at the risk of his life, is a well-known figure in the Steampunk pantheon!
Museum of Arts and Crafts - 60, rue de Réaumur, 75003 - Metro Arts et Métiers or Reaumur-Sebastopol - price: 8 €, reduced price € 5.50, free the first Sunday of the month and Thursday from 18h to 21h30
Arts et Métiers metro station, line 11
The Arts et Métiers metro station itself is well known to the "vaporists" for its retro and futuristic look, a trademark of the Steampunk ... On the docks of line 11, it multiplies the winks like the portholes that pretend to be in the depths of the Earth, and which display objects from the Museum of Arts and Crafts, such as the armillary sphere or the Telstar satellite.
Its elliptical vault, entirely covered with riveted copper plates, gives it a very particular look that evokes the mechanics and the machines, as well as the big wheels at the end of the platform. This deco set up for the bicentennial of the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts is due to the screenwriter Benoît Peeters and the designer François Schuiten. Long-time friends, they collaborated on the fantastic comic book Les Cités Obscures. This universe of science fiction takes us, among other places, to "Brüsel" and "Pâhry": these two imaginary cities resemble what could be Brussels and Paris, if a crazy Steampunk urbanist had redesigned them...

Orchid exhibition in Paris: an opportunity to revisit the botanical gardens of Paris

3 months ago - Julie D.

Who said Paris was gray? The big city conceals some well-hidden secrets where one can go green and walk along impressive flowerbeds. Given the occasion of the exhibition Orchids Paris, from 23 to 25 March 2018, one can take opportunity to take a short tour of the botanical gardens of the capital.
The parade of the elegant: Orchids Paris 2018
From March 23rd to 25th, an impressive exhibition of orchids will be held in Paris, at the Porte de la Villette, where this bewitching and graceful flower will be featured. The exhibition will bring together orchid producers from around the world, as well as orchid-like institutions and associations such as the Writhlington School Foundation, Greenhouses of the Senate - Jardin du Luxembourg, the Eric Young Foundation and more. You can buy rare botanical species and the latest hybrid orchid creations.
For the most assiduous, a high-level congress will disseminate the latest scientific results; some conferences will be more accessible to amateurs. During the three days of the exhibition, the National Horticultural Society of France will offer workshops to make bouquets. Also find workshops for the public, to take care of your orchids and cultivate them better, workshops for children and a photo contest.
Orchids 2018 exhibition - Hall A of the Paris Event Center, 20 Avenue de la Porte de la Villette, Paris 19 - metro 7 or tram 3B Porte de la Villette - entry 12 €, free for children under 12 years old.
Roses; dahlias, iris’: the seasons of the botanical gardens in Paris
On this occasion, why not discover, or rediscover, the botanical gardens of Paris? Parisians have at their disposal the four sites of the Botanical Garden of Paris itself, but also the unmissable Jardin des Plantes, and the discreet botanical garden of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University Paris 5 - René Descartes. Each of these gardens has its own history and atmosphere, but they are all unexpected havens of peace in the megalopolis.
Le Parc Floral de Vincennes
The Parc Floral de Vincennes, accessible from the esplanade of the Château de Vincennes, is immense; it is the ideal setting for long walks to discover peonies (flowering in April and May), irises (May and June), geraniums (May to September) and dahlias (August to October). Find the agenda of flowering here.
The Floral Park also hosts many cultural events, such as the International Dahlia Competitions every year at the end of September, but also festivals and concerts with no immediate relationship with flowers, except beauty! The Parc Floral is thus the theater of the Paris Jazz Festival in June and July, and of Classique au Vert, the weekends of August and September.
Summer is of course the season, where it is good to wander in the flowery paths. But even if your favorite flower has not yet reached the tip of its nose, the Floral Park promises other attractions, such as the sculpture garden where you can enjoy the outdoors of Tinguely, Giacometti or Calder. The "rosalies" (quadricycles), ping-pong or treasure hunt will keep the children occupied.
Parc Floral de Vincennes - Route de la Pyramide, Paris 12 - metro 1 Château de Vincennes - open daily from 9.30am, until 8pm in summer (April to September), until 6.30pm in October and March, and until 17h in winter.
The entry of the park is :2,50 € from May 1 to October 31, 2017. Reduced price (€ 1.50) for young people from 7 to 26 years, free for children under 7 years. Free admission on concert nights upon presentation of a ticket or countermark.
Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil
On the other side of the city is the Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil and its admirable tropical greenhouses. It is originally a decorated garden, with some greenhouses and flower beds, sponsored by Louis XV. It attained its real growth at the end of the 19th century, when the city of Paris seeks to create a horticultural production site. The architect Formigé then renovated the garden of Auteuil and used Rodin's studio to decorate the retaining wall of the terraces of masks, grotesque faces and grimacing masks. The Jardin des Serres d'Auteuil houses, in fact, several gardens: French, Japanese, Mediterranean and contemporary. In the greenhouses, discover cacti, palm trees and tropical plants according to a very educational and well explained course.
Garden of Serres d'Auteuil - 1 Place of the Porte d'Auteuil / 1 Avenue Gordon Bennett, Paris 16 - metro 10 Porte d'Auteuil - free admission.
Parc de Bagatelle
Located in the 16th arrondissement near Neuilly, Bagatelle Park is the ultimate in sophistication. There is the famous Roseraie de Bagatelle, as well as the garden of the water lilies, and an orangery. Here and there, the peacocks roam quietly, between caves, waterfalls and stone bridge of this landscape skillfully staged. The highlight of the season is the Weekend of the Rose, beginning in June, and its International Competition of New Roses. Next to the rose garden is the beautiful Iris garden, inspired by Hispano-Moorish architecture.
The history of the Bagatelle Park is romantic at will: the park itself and the "madness" (pleasure residence) of the Château de Bagatelle are the result of an impossible bet between Marie-Antoinette and her brother-in-law, the Count of Artois. In 1777, Marie-Antoinette challenged the count to complete this crazy project in less than 100 days. Bet taken with panache: at the price of a superhuman effort, the park and the castle were ready in 64 days...
Like the Parc Floral de Vincennes, it regularly hosts concerts and music festivals, such as the Musicales de Bagatelle (end of June), the Chopin Festival (in June-July) and Solistes de Bagatelle (at the orangery, on weekends). end of September).
Bagatelle Park - Route de Sèvres to Neuilly, Paris 16 - metro 1 Porte Maillot, RER C Neuilly-Porte Maillot - open every day from 9.30am to 8pm from April to September, until 6.30pm in March, and 5pm from October to February - free admission except during events, admission 6 €
The inescapable: the Jardin des Plantes
We no longer present the Augustus Jardin des Plantes. It is the dean of the Paris Botanical Gardens, because the apothecary Nicolas Houël was already giving herbalist classes at this site in the 16th century. In the 18th century, the famous naturalist Buffon made it one of the most important centers of scientific research in Europe. Part of the National Museum of Natural History, the Jardin des Plantes remains faithful to its scientific vocation.
It includes several gardens (twelve in total): large greenhouses, again open to the public since 2010, alpine garden, garden of irises and perennials, garden of peonies, garden of roses and rocks, vegetable garden, ecological garden and the school of botany. And it houses no less than 15,000 different plants...
Jardin des Plantes - subway 5 Gare d'Austerlitz, 7 Censier Daubenton, 10 Jussieu or Gare d'Austerlitz, RER C Paris-Austerlitz - open daily from sunrise to sunset (see specific times on the Facebook page) - entrance free, except the Botanical Gallery, 7 €.
The Botanical Garden of the University of Pharmacy – University Paris 5
Few people know about it. It hides in a discreet corner of the 6th district, close to the Luxembourg Gardens. All you need to do is enter the Faculty of Pharmacy, avenue de l'Observatoire, and go straight to find yourself in this garden dedicated to medicinal plants, but not only. The collections of this botanical garden are of course geared towards scientific and medical research, and also allow pharmacy students to familiarize themselves with some common poisonous plants, in order to sensitize their future customers. The magnificent greenhouses, some of which are inherited from Gustave Eiffel, can only be visited during guided tours on Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm.
Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Pharmacy - University Paris 5 - René Descartes - 4, avenue de l'Observatoire, Paris 6 - RER B Port-Royal or Luxembourg, metro 4 Vavin, metro 12 Notre-Dame des Champs - open at the same times of the Faculty of Pharmacy - guided tours on Thursday from 14h to 16h.

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